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Japan Head Coach Shoichi Yanagimoto : We have learnt a lot from our first match. Actually we will be competing with very strong opponents; we are pleased of our first victory. We based our game on teamwork and the players should play always as a team. In the first set we didn’t, in future matches we should play as in the last sets. We first trained at night, we were not used to the food and we couldn’t sleep well, now they’ve adapted.

Japan captain Yoshie Takeshita: Today, success was very valuable. We served well and our attack was good. Now the opponents will be different, we have to work on how to carry on this success.

Venenzuela Captain Jayce Andrade: It’s our second loss during the Olympic Games, I hope we can play better. They played fast attack, that’s why we lost.

Venezuela Head Coach Tomas Fernandez: I don’t believe I’m the only Head Coach who has a headache after playing against Japan. They did particularly well in serve and attack. We copied Cuba’s formation, so we have always three attackers in the first line, but the right side of our attacking line was not efficient this evening. We’re not weak, but they were really strong. If we play 10 times in South America against Peru, Venezuela wins eight of those matches. We have an average age of 18.5-year-old girls in the team, so we need time to develop our Volleyball. In the future, with patience, Venezuela will have its own slot in the Volleyball world.